Carbon Fiber Surf Board - DIY

[@BendheimBoards]

Well done man, board turned out great!

[@JDubHannah]

Hey thanks man, It was super interesting glassing carbon. I follow Colan Australia, they make awesome surfboard carbon fiber products and tried to find a similar weave and weight that were easily purchased state side. Ended up trying 5.7oz carbon twill weave, it was harder than regular cloth to saturate, but trying a reverse lam on the bottom made it really manageable to work with. Definitely going to try it again on a couple boards

[@BendheimBoards]

@@JDubHannah right on, I bet the board is pretty rock solid. I can feel your pressure getting the cloth layered and cut as the curing clock is ticking.

[@yanikmueller5757]

When old mate picks it up and puts the tail straight Into the dirt, twisting it around 🤯

[@JDubHannah]

@@yanikmueller5757 🥹🥹

[@ashleyball648]

Love when you ask a question out surfing and the person responds while also turning away. Clear as.

[@Ais4Drew]

I enjoyed this video not just for the carbon (can’t wait to see more shapers start using it in the future) but also the AVA backing tracks in the background. The first one i was thinking “is that Kiss and Tell” then after hearing The Adventure I was like “oh yeah this dude has killer tastes in boards and tunes”. Much love from Texas! 😎

[@JDubHannah]

@@Ais4Drew heck yes Drew🙌, you caught the AVA, I see you are also a man of culture and carbon!

[@divingtim]

OMG I love this build! its looking absolutely amazing!! 😻 was the Carbon fiber cloth pre Impregnated or was it raw? I'm asking since you've managed to get such a clean cut on the edges and I'm planning on doing a carbon board aswell.

[@JDubHannah]

Hey thanks! Turned out super cool right?! Not pre-impregnated carbon, I linked the carbon I used in the description!

[@stevecoles7173]

That is the sickest looking board ! Love carbon !!

[@JDubHannah]

Hey thanks dude! She is super fun!!

[@joeblow1942]

7:06. Uses a chalk line to mark the center in place of a stringer.

[@JDubHannah]

Oooh good idea, thanks for sharing!

[@joeblow1942]

@@JDubHannah Isn’t that what you used at 7:06?

[@JDubHannah]

Yo hahaha I use laser lines these days, been so long I forgot I ever used chalk lines!

[@WaveWasters]

Board looks awesome!

[@JDubHannah]

Thanks man, she turned out awesome!

[@wickedgrafix]

Your t-shirt logo would look great on the carbon fiber.

[@JDubHannah]

Oh man, I have a whole new vid in the works with 2 carbon fiber 7’2 guns, with my t shirt logo in them 🙌🙌🙌

[@koreanantibiotics]

thx for sharing this was awesome

[@JDubHannah]

Hey thanks man!

[@skylinesthelimit4926]

The carbon looks fantastic! Love the vids!!

[@JDubHannah]

Thanks sir! It was a super fun experiment and turned out pretty sweet, might have to make some more carbon boards

[@skylinesthelimit4926]

Does the carbon help much with preventing pressure dings?

[@PeakeRepairs]

what kind of epoxy resin did you use?

[@JDubHannah]

I really like Resin Research epoxy, it's my favorite! They have a couple of different formulations, the CE series has an optical enhancer for white boards, makes them pop more white! their clear series is great for colored boards!

[@JDubHannah]

I get mine at shaper supply or green light surf supply!

[@Lowpropo]

Planning on doing this on my wakeboard lol

[@ernestogiacomomanfrediberm2633]

Hey bro, i have wraped a board with carbon fiber and i have notice that after putting it in the water a small hole has emerged. Very small like a pin air. Do you know why that happens? Thanks

[@JDubHannah]

Are you using an EPS blank? They are notorious for “de-gassing”. There are a lot of gasses in the blank itself and when you glass the board if your not baby sitting and watching for it while it cures, small bubbles will work their way through the carbon and the resin and form a little pin hold channel as the bubbles escape, a very frustrating side effect of using EPS blanks! Next time you are hot coating just really look out for any little pinhole channels forming and brush the epoxy back over it to seal. Did this help?!

[@marctello8861]

Awesome board, do you know where i coild buy that carbon fiber cloth? Ty

[@JDubHannah]

Hey thanks man! Here is the carbon I use! amzn.to/3Lm8eiL

[@specialsauce305]

Beautifully done! What is the fabric you placed on top of the carbon fiber weave and what is its purpose?

[@JDubHannah]

I placed a layer of “e fiberglass cloth” over the top. Then with the best hand done glass jobs there will be tiny little imperfections in the carbon, I add the extra layer of fiberglass over the top so when sanding out any little imperfections, I’m sanding everything perfectly flat and smooth in the fiberglass layer and not nicking the carbon fiber at all. Hope this helps and makes sense!

[@specialsauce305]

@@JDubHannah thanks. I want to make a skimboard for my son and thought it might look cool to use carbon fiber.

[@JDubHannah]

@specialsauce305 definitely would be a very cool father son build! And skim board would be more manageable since it’s essentially a flat surface top and bottom, I’ve linked to the stuff I use in the description! Good luck!!

[@正龍李]

It's very cool. Ur great shaper.

[@JDubHannah]

Hey thanks man, it’s super fun and rewarding!

[@atreyu6730]

Dude...your a surgeon at shaping! I’m going to call you the Dr.! -Brad

[@JDubHannah]

Hahahaha B-Rad😂😂😂👍👍👍👍 I love it

[@cyoung23y]

Where did you get the carbon fiber cloth?

[@JDubHannah]

This is the carbon I use! amzn.to/3KH4LLj

[@Battsboards]

do you think you could provide a link to the carbon fiber cloth you used? thanks

[@JDubHannah]

Hey no prob! This is the carbon I was using! amzn.to/45qO6EA

[@Battsboards]

@@JDubHannah thank you! subbed!

[@JDubHannah]

Heck ya Batts, thanks sir🤘🤘

[@randylangguth7926]

Sharks are gonna love it, looks just like a fat seal!

[@javaleedj]

Fantastic

[@jayesoncanales5633]

Couldn’t tell in the video but did you put glass or carbon patches over the fin boxes? Im about to do my first carbon board. Hand lam. Boards looks sick. Good job

[@jayesoncanales5633]

With carbon is it better to route the fin boxes after the lam? I normally do them before directly on the blank

[@JDubHannah]

Hey what’s up Jayeson, heck ya on doing a carbon! They are so challenging/fun, extra special to make your own carbon!! I normally do my boxes before laminating, but just wanted to have more control on this one until I got the hang of carbon, just wanted to be 100% sure didn’t have any little bubbles around the boxes that if sanded through would make it look less esthetic. Nowadays I do my boxes before laminating carbon (also routing through carbon really dulls your router bits but…. Turns out super clean). Hey one big tip! Even after laminating a board super well with carbon, baby sit it while it kicks for an hour or two, I strangely find bubbles trying to form even an hour or so later, so baby sit it and tend to any bubbles that might try to form on you! Hey if you want to share post a pic on insta and tag! Would love to see it

[@jayesoncanales5633]

I like to seal my blank with epoxy an micro balloons before laminating so hopefully doing that can avoid the bubbles issue. Thanks for the quick reply

[@JDubHannah]

@@jayesoncanales5633 I don’t know why, but even after sealing i had a few small degassing bubbles 🤷🏼‍♂️ trying to form, baby sit just in case and you won’t regret it!

[@jayesoncanales5633]

Will do

[@ernestogiacomomanfrediberm2633]

Hi bro, where can i find the carbon fiber. Can you help me please! Very thank!

[@JDubHannah]

Hey what’s up Ernesto, happy to help! The pro shops buy big rolls of carbon made by hexcel, but I use this stuff off of Amazon, has worked great for me! amzn.to/3oNwbs6

[@ernestogiacomomanfrediberm2633]

@@JDubHannah Thank you very much for your answer, you helped me a lot. Greetings from Peru!

[@verllydantas4804]

That's really cool, you did a great job, I wanna buy it by the link you provided, but I'm not sure if I need but to or only one by the link. I wanna make a 6'4, do you recommend buy one or two ?

[@JDubHannah]

Thanks man! She is a super cool board, fun build! So the carbon I used comes 50 x 36 lengths, if you want one solid piece top and bottom you would have to order 4 lengths to have enough length in a solid layer of carbon with no seams! Sort of pricey, but super cool, also will walk away with a fair amount of excess you can make other stuff with

[@giuseppe4909]

Man...I’m new here, but some tips if you don’t know....you can precut your cloth to fit, mix your resin in a larger pan so it is spread out more to reduce the thermal ramp up and give you a little more working time, and get resin on and spread out as quick as possible....also you can lower your shop temp until you are all spread on the board, then turn off the a/c and bring shop temp back up.

[@JDubHannah]

Hey that’s a sweet idea on a pan or wider bowl to keep it from kicking so fast! I normally pre-cut my cloth but I was having a hard time getting good saturation with the carbon, so was doing a reverse lam. I wish my garage had an a/c hahaha, I’m at the mercy of SoCal weather! One day I’ll get one 😆👍

[@Clint_Moto34]

Why aren't there any carbon fiber Windsurf boards ? 🤔

[@JDubHannah]

I’m not a windsurfer, hard to say, but I’d imagine there are a bunch out there?! I foil board too and tons of carbon fiber foil boards

[@bradlyblades294]

I’m currently in the process of building a carbon fiber board. What thickness cloth did you use overtop the carbon? My board is more of a step up 6’4 with a rounded pin tail. Me and my glasser are just trying to find what glass and resin, cloth thickness, etc.. and the best route we should go during this process.

[@JDubHannah]

Heck ya, always stoked to hear about everyones builds, 6’4 step up round pin would be awesome in carbon 👍. I used 4 oz over the top. I’ve done a few more carbons after this one and one thing I’ve noticed is that carbon doesn’t want to adhere as nicely as cloth to the board, baby sit it longer than usual epoxy waiting for it to kick. EPS blanks tend to de-gas quite a bit and I’ve found bubbles trying to form way after I’m done laminating, I check every twenty minutes or so for 2hrs to make sure

[@joeblow1942]

@@JDubHannah Did you seel the EPS blank first? That might help a lot. Some use lightweight spackle but I prefer epoxy with microballoons. Also, as far as the carbon floating; you might consider trying Jimmy Lewis’s Poor Mans Vacuum Bagging. His series is on Vimeo.

[@wtfftw24]

So cool! As you had only 15 minutes running kick time to laminate one side of the board I am guessing you used polyester resin?

[@JDubHannah]

With kick time that quick you would think it’s poly right?! But I was actually using super fast kick epoxy!

[@mikemcdermid2689]

Love this! Thinking about laying some carbon fiber over a kawasaki jetski "superchicken". What thickness carbon fiber did you use for this?

[@JDubHannah]

Whoa reinforcing your jetski, thats awesome! Not sure how thick it is, buts its 5.7oz weight! here is a link to it www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07254VC6W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[@mikemcdermid2689]

@@JDubHannah thanks! I don't really need it for the strength its more for the visual carbon look rather than painting!

[@JDubHannah]

Ahha, well shoot that would look super cool

[@ryanlowe988]

Curious how it's doing? I was under the impression that carbon fiber needed to be vacuum bagged. Looks great🤙🏼

[@JDubHannah]

Ya it pretty much does need to be vacuum bagged to get max performance. When you vacuum bag you get absolute optimum about of resin to carbon ration giving you the best strength to weight ratio (no excess resin which adds weight but doesn’t add strength) also the carbon is perfectly laminated onto the board, i.e no small imperfections or bumps, etc.. Compared to a vacuum bagged board this will be a little heavier with likely a little bit extra resin infused in the carbon and I did have some slight bumps and imperfections I had to sand, that being said you can totally laminate a board with carbon by hand and get crazy strength added at about the same weight as any normal surf board. so pretty sweet regarding performance to price ratio. The board is ripping fine to this day 🙌🙌

[@ryanlowe988]

@@JDubHannah That's awesome. Thanks for the reply. 🤙🏼

[@MethanWeber]

That board looks sick with the carbon fiber!

[@JDubHannah]

Carbon is king!!

[@primefreepe]

so its worse now thenit was bevor? (heavier with no benefits)

[@scaa86]

hi, great video. Makes me want to do it myself. question, do you free lap or cutlap in this process? Regards, Alex

[@JDubHannah]

I free lapped this board, on the first layer of carbon I did a bit of a loose and slightly sloppy free lap since the free edge was going to be covered by the second layer layer of carbon, but on the top layer of carbon I spent a lot of time cutting it very precisely making it as close to a cut lap as possible. Turned out very nice. I recently did two 7’2 step up carbon guns and cut lapped both sides with similar results. Cut laps turn out the very nicest but add a fair amount of time, sort of depends on your skill level and time available

[@ritawahyu5222]

Why you glass the deck first?

[@JDubHannah]

Just wanted to give it a try with the reverse lam, honestly much easier to do bottom first. Will not be doing that again hahahaha

[@jacoporissone2802]

I love you broooooo!!!!

[@JDubHannah]

Hahahah thanks dude, I appreciate your stoke!

[@Bido11561]

Is the fiberglass necessary or do you think the single layer of carbon would be enough?

[@JDubHannah]

Dude super good question, strength wise one layer of carbon would definitely be strong enough! I just added a layer of cloth over to top because I was afraid of nicking the carbon while sanding which might make it not as pretty. Definitely going to try a board with just pure carbon sometime soon

[@Bido11561]

Nice thanks for the response. Gonna do a carbon board on my next set of blanks. We’ll see how it goes! Psyched I got your tip on laying resin down before the carbon before I start

[@JDubHannah]

Heck ya, stoked your giving carbon a try, And that reverse lam seriously made a huge difference. Was definitely sweating time wise trying to get it done but worked out in the end. Hey seriously electric shears made a huge difference for me, definitely check some out, I bought a fancy $150 pair and a cheap $40 pair, tested them both and they both worked great so kept the cheaper pair. Hawkforce Electric Scissor with 2 PCS Cutting Blades,4V Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery Cordless Power Scissors Box Cutter Shears Cutting Tool for Cutting Fabric, Leather, Carpet and Cardboard smile.amazon.com/dp/B07QT8B8L7/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_QHN2ESGME4XSK7S0HZVC?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

[@jezlucas3878]

Dam cool

[@JDubHannah]

Hell ya Jez!!!!

[@emans4seam]

what kind of carbon weave did you use?

[@JDubHannah]

I used 5.7 oz twill weave carbon fiber @ www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07254VC6W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1 !

[@emans4seam]

@@JDubHannah have you considered trying a vacuum bag carbon infusion like the boards from the dark arts project?

[@fuelbasti]

Why such a rough and heavy fabric? It all needs lots of resin which is too much weight. Maybe there is a carbon fabric available wich is similar to a typical glass fabric?

[@JDubHannah]

Super good question! So there are a couple things to consider with carbon, there are unidirectional and multidirectional weaves, how many filaments per “tow”, 3K, 6K, and 12k carbon are the most common, and then the last measurement is the weight per meter square of the carbon. Here I was using twill weave, 5.7 oz per meter, 3K. From what I can tell dark arts is using twill weave but I’m not sure what K and oz carbon they are using. I actually interviewed the Dark Arts founder at the last board room convention on one of my vids, and in the moment forgot and didn’t ask him! One thing I can say for sure, is hand laminations like I did in this vid will always leave some extra resin and therefore weight left behind despite best intentions, they way to get the very optimal strength to weight with carbon is to vacuum bag, it pulls out any excess making it as light as possible.

[@peaceharmonyandbrotherhood6023]

Do you sell them?

[@JDubHannah]

I’m still and working on a few little tricks with the carbon trying to get it totally perfect, so not selling carbon boards yet till i have them totally perfect, but I sell normal fiberglass boards!

[@Bido11561]

Poly blank?

[@JDubHannah]

Yes sir, you can use carbon on poly or eps. Did this build with poly to give the board a little more weight, sometimes carbon boards come out almost a little too light!

[@jaronsurf]

ong Hollister 👀

[@JDubHannah]

🤫🤫🤫

[@filippoi.4138]

thanks god there is someone that leaves that carbon as it is... all with this ugly sanded/colored stuff. i am near the end of an e-foil 100% carbon look. well done!

[@JDubHannah]

Man I think that weird sanded/distressed look is sort of ugly, I don’t get why people like that over pure carbon 😂😂🤷🏼‍♂️. Whoa building your own e foil?! That’s super cool, post some vids, would love to see that

[@filippoi.4138]

@@JDubHannah unfortunately I am not a lot into video making and now I am near the end. Electric stuff is completed, board I have done all vacuum baggings with carbon and glass. Now just last hot coat for a glossy finish and minor stuff. I’ll try to make a short video when is done

[@JDubHannah]

That’s awesome man, do you do resin infusion when bagging? I’ve been doing a bunch of research into resin infusion with vacuum bagging seeing if it’s something I want to get into if I end up doing a bunch of carbon work. Hey tag me if you post a vid, would be stoked to check it out

[@filippoi.4138]

@@JDubHannah not “infusion” I didn’t let the resin run into the bag from one side to the other, I just applied wet carbon, glass and resin like you did, then tons of layers for bagging😂 peel ply, breathing cloth, TNT, and the bag. All becomes tighter, cleaner and harder. Problem was that being and e-foil it has lots of depressions and holes and I had to do it in 4 different steps and 4 vac-bags

[@JDubHannah]

Hmm super interesting, So you use vacuum bagging to get a super tight lamination, that’s awesome well shoot I’ll have to give that a try sometime